Feminist Theories in Vedanayaka Sastriyar's 'Sastira Kummi'

Abstract

Vedanayaka Sastri, who was patronized by King Sarabhoji of Thanjavur is a Tamil Christian. He wrote many books in Tamil related to Christianity. Although many of his books were not published due to financial problems, some books were published for three times during his lifetime. One among those books is ‘Sastira Kummi’ which was very famous. In this book we can know about his thoughts about feminism. This book is in simple Tamil language and he has recorded many messages in it, condemning superstitious beliefs, harm caused by shaguna shastram, witchcraft beliefs, upholding women's rights and so on. He wrote more than eight hundred songs criticizing the customs and superstitions of that time. Some of those songs are discussed in this article